Jungle Rhythm Stage Production

Broadway, beware! 2012 will be remembered as the year that Eduplus made its debut atthe Wynand Mouton Theatre at the University of the Free State. This year's stageproduction, Jungle Rhythm, was far more than a primary school year-end concert. Tellingthe story of the Lootwell family's adventures in an unusual jungle, not only did ourlearners have the opportunity to perform in a “real theatre”, but professional make-up,lighting, sound and ushers were part of the deal. As always, our brilliant drama duo,Robynne van Zuydam and Irma Potgieter, worked their magic with a custom-made scriptand excellent direction. Two of our “supermoms” also deserve a special mention – SuneliaPool and Melinda Janse van Rensburg went far beyond the call of duty in designing andarranging exquisite costumes, and being hands-on helpers throughout the preparationand presentation of our stage production. Congratulations and thanks must also go toall the learners and teachers, for hours spent practising, practising and practising somemore! Let the Jungle Rhythm live on!

Laetitia Lootwell (Elné Spies), her parents(Lané Rossouw and Talha Suleman) and theirforest guides, Suka the leopard (Samu Gwala)

and Dinki the bushbaby (Danielle Ceronio)from Jungle Rhythm.

All our preschool learners visited Toy Land early in November for their end-of-year concert. The audience were taken on an exciting

Preschool Concert: "Toy Land"

journey with the Rag Doll from RubbishLand; there were mice, cats, soldiers,teddy bears, and even a robot or two.The excitement of being on stage wasvisible on the little actors' faces, and anappreciative audience added to theirenjoyment. The concert was opened bySunelia Pool's excellent pom-pom group.Congratulations to the preschool teachersand assistants for a lovely concert. Manyof the audience will remember the threelittle faces peering over the edge of thetoy chest for many years to come!

Next up ... 2013!Free State schools reopen for learners for the new academic yearnice and early, on Wednesday 9 January 2013. Please note that wewill not be printing a school calendar for each child next year.Instead, you will be able to view the school's calendar on ourwebsite, and to print your own copy at home if you so wish.Please check this calendar often, to ensure that you do not missany important dates or information.

Singing SensationOne of our very own Grade 1 learners,Phia-né Pool, has been selected to jointhe Bloemfontein Children’s Choir.

Congratulations on this prestigiousachievement, Phia-né! We are proudto have Eduplus represented by you!

Picasso, eat your heart out! There was no shortage of artistic talent on display at the annual Eduplus ArtExhibition, held on Friday 12 October 2012. With art work from all our learners on display, parents andvisitors could feast their eyes on the beautiful creations our young artists had made. We were particularlyhonoured to have the Learning Facilitator for Arts and Culture, Ms Marni van Wyk (from the Free StateEducation Department) present, to officially open the event. Thank you to all our class teachers, parents,learners, and especially the primary school visual arts teacher, Elizma Ingram, for your incredible supportand contribution!

Art Exhibition

Our annual Eduplus Pet Show took place on Saturday 3 November 2012. Local vetDr Werner Hamming and his wife Doret were the honoured judges who decidedwhose pets and soft toys were the winners of the coveted prizes in each category.In order to enter an animal into the pet show, learners had to donate an item offood or a blanket to animal welfare. Although the SPCA could not be present at thepet show itself, their representatives came to collect the generous donations from

Pet Show

Eduplus soon thereafter. The SPCA staff spoke to ourlearners about caring for pets, the importance ofsterilisation, and how to report animal abuse. One ofour Grade 1 learners, Zandri Harmse, also handed overher extra-special donation to the SPCA – the profitfrom her stall at Market Day earlier in the year. Welldone, Zandri!

Mikayla van Zyl (Grade 00) attended the South AfricanNational Equestrian Schools’ Association’s annualshow at the end of September, along with her horse,Fairy-Belle. She took part in two categories. Despitehaving only taken part in one show prior to this one,Mikayla qualified for the South African championships,where she did very well. Well done, Mikayla! We areproud of you.

Teacher Jana and “Tannie” Lettie took the Ducklings for a KFC ice cream to rewardthem for all the hard work practising for the concert.

The Ducklings enjoyed a lovely mud day in October!

Duckling Adventures

SurveyWhat do you like about Eduplus? How could the school improve? Why did yousend your child to our school? If these are the kinds of questions you couldanswer, please help provide us with valuable feedback. We have created aweb-based survey for our parents to complete. Please go directly towww.surveymonkey.com/s/R8XJJVN, or, alternatively, click on the “For theParents” survey link on our website, www.eduplusschool.co.za.

Equestrian Excellence

In today’s society, keeping our bodies healthy is a major challenge. For parents who need to supply food to their children for school andsports events, the challenge is even greater. And when a child refuses to eat fruit or vegetables, the problem may seem insurmountable.

However, there are a number of ways in which these challenges can be addressed:

Firstly, ensure that the family eats sufficient fibre-rich foods, such as fruit, vegetables and whole grains. Because fibre is a tasteless,seemingly unimpressive component of food, many manufacturers discriminate against it, and remove it during processing. Unfortunately,many families prefer to buy low-GI white bread instead of wholesome wholegrain varieties of bread, as well as white pasta and thedreaded “two-minute noodles”.

Every small change towards eating a more natural, healthy, wholesome diet is a step in the right direction. Without sufficient fibre, themicrobes in the digestive tract battle to survive or function optimally. This can result in constipation, diarrhoea and other unpleasantsymptoms. What is more, the digestive tract microbes play an important role in the prevention of allergies, heart conditions, obesity,cancer, and many other diseases. An imbalance in the gut leads to all kinds of illnesses over time.

Children ought to eat as much nutrient-rich food as possible. Nutrient-rich food contains vitamins, anti-oxidants, fibre, minerals, essentialamino acids and fatty acids. Sweets, pasta, bread, cooldrinks, and so forth are examples of foods which have a high energy content, butvery little with which to maintain energy levels, or with which to support and maintain the brain, muscles and immune system. Manypeople think of the immune system as simply preventing colds and flu, but its function is much more complex and far-reaching than that.

Another important principle is to try to avoid colourants, flavourants and preservatives as far as possible. In a follow-up article we willlook at how these molecules use up the glutathione in the body, leading to increased “criminals” in relation to “policemen” in the body,and how this in turn can contribute to infections, allergies, food sensitivities, tiredness, cancer, attention deficits, poor concentration andother problems.

What we eat forms the building blocks for our bodies’ biological processes. In the environmentally-unfriendly environment in which welive, good nutrition is no longer an “optional extra”. We therefore need to be very careful with the decisions we make when making foodand preparing lunchboxes. We need to try to ensure that sweet treats contain fibre and essential fats, and we need to teach our kids tolove fruit and vegetables from an early age.

Nutrition 101By Ilsabé Spoelstra (Dietician)

We are very sad to bid farewell to Teacher Jana Boshoff (of the Grade 00 Ducklings’ class), as she movesto Gauteng with her husband, Christo, in December. Jana’s enthusiasm, dedication to her learners,attention to detail and outgoing personality will be sorely missed. All the best for the future, Jana!

Farewell to Teacher Jana

In 2013 we plan to work through a series of articles which further elaborate on the points mentioned above. Untilthen, enjoy the holiday, and eat responsibly!

Matthew LiphokoGardening

Adeline MakoloaneHousekeeping and general

administration and other tasks

Sanna LetubeHousekeeping and general

administration and other tasks

Henriëtte JansenCurriculum Development +

Mathematics teacher forGr 3, 4 and 5

Cindy van der WesthuizenRemedial teaching

Wena du ToitReception and

general administration

Rika du Preez Remedial co-ordinator

Shaun GordonSport and site mananger

Robynne van ZuydamHead of Finances + Gr 3 English

Home and Additional Language +Gr 2 English Additional Language

Ilze IzaakseAssistant: Gr 4

Francisca de Beer Assistant: Gr 5 + Administration

Naledi BauerGr 1 Afrikaans Home Language +Gr 2 English Home Language +

Gr 4 English Additional Language + Marketing + Curriculum Development

Madelein NeethlingGr 5 class teacher + Gr 3, 4 & 5

Afrikaans Home Language + Gr 5 Afrikaans Additional Language + Gr 4 Technology + Gr 4 & 5 SeSotho

Lizemari MentonGr 3 class teacher + Sport +

Gr 3 & 4 Afrikaans Additional Language + Gr 3 Life Orientation + Gr 4& 5 EMS +

Gr 5 Technology

Estelee TolkenGr 2 class teacher

Irma PotgieterGr 00 class teacher + Drama teacher

Lettie MellettAssistant: Gr 00

Lizaan LabuschagneGr 000 class teacher

Joey VenterAssistant: Grade 000

Ronelle CeronioPrincipal +

Curriculum Development

2013 Staff Portfolios

Wondering who will be teaching your child next year? Or perhaps just wondering what our teaching staff will be doing all day? Here’s asneak peek at the 2013 Eduplus team:

Petrus PoniCar watch + assistance

with gardening

Lizl SchoemanHead of Department: Preschool +

Grade R class teacherHelena NolteAssistant: Gr R

Tamsyn EcclesDeputy Principal + Gr 4 class teacher +

Gr 4 & 5 English Home Language +Gr 5 English Additional Language +

Gr 4 & 5 Social Sciences + Gr 4 & 5 Life Orientation

Lee-Ann SwanepoelGr 1 class teacher

Genevieve du Randt Assistant: Gr 1

Ilanie Rossouw Natural Sciences Gr 4 and 5